Europe Roundabout
by ShatteredLyre
Summary: Popular actor Asakura Yoh takes beloved girlfriend/novelist Kyoyama Anna for a tour around Europe. But thanks to his evil jealous twin Hao and an envious Tamao, he suddenly loses his job and is stuck in Europe! …Hold on, this ISN’T part of the script?
1. Episode One: Pilot in Tokyo!

**Prompt/Summary: **Popular soap opera actor Asakura Yoh decides to go summer camping around Europe with his beloved girlfriend, the known author (and secretly hopeless romantic) Kyoyama Anna. But what happens when thanks to the schemes of his colleagues, Hao (who is jealous of his popularity) and Tamao (who is jealous of their love), he suddenly loses his job and the two of them don't even have enough money to go home? Hilarity ensues.

* * *

**Episode One: Pilot in Tokyo!**

**

* * *

**"Please…don't…I…I…" the stunning girl with perfect features cried out, falling to her knees in a cathartic singular moment of sheer desperation, clutching at her heart and reaching out to him. Her life. Her love.

"You what?" Yoh asked, helplessness, anger, bitterness all converging together holding his hands out, asking what else more she could expect from him. "What do you want me to do? I just can't…I can't believe…The child that you're pregnant with…it's not mine. You cheated on me. You gave up our five year long relationship for one night in France. You lied to me." His voice lowered. "What do you expect me to do?" he asked quietly.

"To love me," she said, tears falling thick and heavy from her shining eyes, her hand trembling as she took his in hers. "To stay with me. I'm here…I'm exposing myself to you, this is me, my soul." She pressed his hand to his cheek. "Please don't leave me…"

"I don't even know you anymore," he proclaimed coldly, clenching his eyes shut and balling his hand into a fist, yanking it away suddenly from her. "Who are you?"

She gasped, her sobs wrenching and shaking her body in spasms so much that she looked like she could've collapsed from the sheer force of them. "Who…am…I…" she repeated in a daze. "Who am I?" she asked, this time stronger, her chin tilting up to look up at him. "I'm…just a girl…just a simple girl, no more, no less…asking a boy…to love her."

"Aaaaaaaaand, _cut!_" Ryu yelled out. Yoh and the girl sighed and stretched. "_Perfect_, you two! Simply perfection!" He turned around and motioned to the crew that was awaiting his next command. "Everyone, take five."

"Eh…I don't know, Ryu. That last line Pirika said sounded pretty similar to Julia Roberts' confession in _Notting Hill_." Yoh shrugged and offered a hand to his co-star, pulling her up to her feet.

"Ugh, my make up's running. I think I'll go see Tamao to get myself fixed up before the next scene," she said, jutting her finger towards her dressing room.

"Yes, yes, dear, do whatever you want," Ryu remarked casually, waving his hand dismissively. "We'll just leave that up to chance, shall we?" He winked at Yoh. "Anyways _Europe Roundabout_ is the most watched Japanese soap opera in four years! No one will care!"

"Five years now, Ryu," someone called out, typing away on a laptop. "My Idol! Entertainment's JDrama editor came up with the annual rating and reviews. It's five years now!"

"You mean…we beat out _Osorezan Revoir_'s record from 2005?" Ryu demanded, his jaw dropping and eyes widening. "This is outstanding! We haven't even aired the finale yet!"

"Hey, Ryu, this scene's the last one of the season, right?" Yoh asked.

The director nodded. "It sure is. This is the finale and then we're all done for the next few months." He smirked. "Why?"

"Well, it's my anniversary with Anna…"

"Ah, you're going to propose to the ever-so-fabulous Kyoyama lady?" Ryu patted him on the back. "It's about time! Not to mention, good for publicity. Though, Chocolove says that our ratings would go up even more if you and Usui were in a real, off-camera relationship," he said thoughtfully, stroking his chin.

"That might be somewhat difficult, considering that in the next scene, Pirika not only got pregnant from the man who almost killed me last season but that it was done through artificial insemination," Yoh pointed out, reading from the script in his hands. "And she's basically like my little sister so that would be borderline incestuous." He paused, tapping the rolled up script against his head. "Oh, and Horohoro would never go for it."

"Damn, straight I wouldn't!" Horohoro, the primary cameraman on the set, yelled.

Pirika, having finished getting her makeup redone, rolled her eyes as she approached the two. "Uh…don't you think my makeup is a little too…_perfect_ for a woman who has gone through several hours of labor and has just given birth?"

"Usui…this is a _soap opera_. Do you actually think we'll get ratings if you looked like a hot mess onscreen?" Ryu explained as if he were talking to a child. "Honestly, we've been doing this for years now. You'd think you'd get the drill by this point in time."

"Feh, just sayin' is all…" she grumbled, allowing Tokagero to strap a fake pregnancy pillow around her midsection before putting on a disposable hospital gown.

* * *

"You…you came…" she whispered softly, her eyes fluttering open. "D-Does that mean…?" She looked up at him hopefully.

He hesitated. "I…I'm willing to give this another shot. For you. For me. For the baby." He clasped her hand. "As long as you love me and only me."

"I don't ever want to see him again! I swear, my heart only belongs to you…I…" She began crying, her tears running into the hospital gown she was wearing. The nurse handed her the baby she had delivered merely minutes ago. "I'm sorry…I'm sorry…"

Yoh had finally cracked and began kneeling by her bedside. "It's fine, we're all together now, right? That's what matters."

"I don't deserve you…I don't deserve this happiness," she hiccupped. "I don't deserve your love."

"Shh…I have loved since the day I met you. I love you right now. I will love you forever, I swear. I will never leave your side. The truth is…I even loved you when I was still engaged…"

Pirika gasped. "You…really did?"

He nodded. "I have loved you every second of my life." He stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head.

A nurse knocked at the door. "Ah…miss? You have a visitor…" She coughed, embarrassed that she had interrupted the two.

"I…do? Who is it?"

"Says he's the father of the child." The nurse stepped aside to make space for the man in question to enter the room.

"You!" Yoh snarled, pointing an accusatory finger out of here. "Haven't you caused enough pain for the both of us? You nearly killed me last year and you forced my fiancée into this pregnancy!"

Pirika's mouth parted. "Fiancée? Do you…do you mean it?"

"Only if you want this as much as I do," he smiled.

Lyserg stepped forward. "That's funny…considering that merely nine months ago she had confessed that the entire time you two were together, she had loved me. What were the words again…oh yes, that 'her heart belonged only to me.'"

"You…you what?" Yoh reeled back as if he had been slapped. He looked at Pirika as if seeing her for the first time.

"No! Don't…that was…a mistake…" she said, her voice becoming soft.

"You seemed very adamant about it back then," Lyserg drawled. "And in fact…the baby that was just born? It wasn't conceived as you think it was. While you were in England, we had tried for months prior in France, if you know what I mean." Yoh clenched his fists. "But then she finally got pregnant. Through artificial insemination."

"I can't believe you," Yoh whispered. "You…lied to me. How much of our relationship had been a sham? How much have you two been laughing at me as you were stringing me along? You lied to me." He paused as if the truth had settled in. "You _liar_. You _liar_!" he yelled.

"Please don't leave! You can't leave me! I don't know what I would do without you…I can't be alone…" Her voice dropped. "Not again." Her head snapped up. "Not again! I can't lose you for the second time!"

"It's too late." Yoh was already at the door. "You already have." And then he left.

* * *

"Aww, man, that was _really_ bad," Yoh and Lyserg laughed as they rewatched the scene while Manta cropped out some of the excess footage in the preliminary editing stage. "Haha, the backlighting in the hospital makes you look like a vampire, Lyserg."

"The entire show is backlit, you idiot!" He smiled, shoving Yoh. "So I suppose I look like a vampire every episode."

"Well, they don't call you the 'Edward Cullen of the JDrama world' for nothing, then!" They both laughed again, remembering the _Jump, Step!_ people's choice awards and nominations of last year. "'Enough angst, emotional power, and good looks to satiate any _Twilight_ fan in Japan! Lyserg Diethel is a must-watch actor! The only thing missing is the sparkling skin!'" Yoh and Lyserg quoted in unison from the article.

"That was one of the worst…But thanks to that, _Europe Roundabout_ got a whole lot more viewers because of it." He shook his head. "Too bad they're mostly girls hoping that the show is the Japanese version of Stephanie Meyers' series."

"It really is a pity…But at least they mob you, not me, at the events!" Yoh grinned.

"Or when I'm getting groceries. _Groceries_, for God's sake!" Lyserg sighed. "Well, what can you expect?" He took out his phone to check the time. "Would you like to join me for some drinks later? Horohoro and Pirika are coming along too, I think. We're going to Matamune's to celebrate the last episode this season."

"And then a couple months to ourselves! That's the life." Yoh frowned. "Can't…I have…er, plans already." He had colored a little.

Lyserg's face brightened up. "Oh, I see! You're going to propose tonight, hmm?" He prodded Yoh in the ribs with his elbow. "I can see her next interview on _The Tao Jun Show_: 'And now we have next Japan's most eminent romance writer, a veritable idol among teenage girls and women alike…Let's hear it for Asakura Anna, nee Kyoyama!'" he announced with a flourish of his hands. "So how are you going to do it?"

"Eh? Do what?"

"Propose! Pop the question! You know!" Lyserg exclaimed. "Hmm, well Kyoyama is a classy lady…I'm guessing…ring in champagne glass at Hang Zang-Ching's? No wonder you didn't want to come with us tonight! I'd pick the classiest Chinese restaurant this side of Tao's over going to Matamune's any day!"

Yoh simply laughed. "The past odd five years of my life have been all about clichés. No way I'd do that!" He scratched the back of his head. "Next two months of my life, I'll be going to Europe—"

"Finally! No one on the entire cast, crew, or writing staff has ever been to continental Europe…funny how the show is called _Europe Roundabout_ and takes place there."

"Or perhaps…expected. The entire drama is based on stereotypes and assumptions that the writers and director have of the entirety of Europe…that may be why it's so cliché and cheesy."

"Point. So you're going to propose…when exactly?" Lyserg drew his keys out of his pocket and the two started walking out of the editing room, waving at Manta.

"On the last day of the trip most likely. That's when we're going to be in Paris."

"Romantic. Eiffel Tower?"

"Can there be any other way?" Yoh asked. They both laughed. "You're oddly…chipper today. More than usual anyways. Why so happy?"

"You make it sound like it's a crime."

"What, did you finally get a girlfriend?"

He shrugged. "Come on. You already know that my contract says that I can't be in any relationships until the show is done for good."

"Oh yeah, I forgot. Can't make your rabid fangirls jealous now. I keep forgetting…"

"Well, that's because you were already in a relationship before you even signed on, so obviously they couldn't put that in your contract." He opened the door of his car and paused. "Marco's coming home tonight."

Yoh punched his costar in the arm. "Wow! I'm happy for you! How long has it been?"

"A year and two months. Not that I'm counting or anything. The manufacturer he's been dealing with finally agreed to start producing the Archangel." Lyserg could barely keep himself from smiling.

"Heh, when they start coming out with those cars, I'm definitely getting one. Finest luxury car I've ever had the pleasure of seeing."

"I'll be sure to tell Marco that."

"In fact, I think I'll invest in this." Lyserg quirked an eyebrow. "Yeah, I will. Just talk to Amidamaru, he'll get everything set up." He waved as he opened the door to his own car. "It must be nice knowing big bro is home and all."

"You have no idea." He waved as he sped away from the parking lot and Yoh turned the key in his own ignition.

* * *

_He arrived at the hotel roof, out of breath. But the sight of her made it all worth it. She turned around, the hem of her khaki trench coat making a painfully slow yet graceful arc about her. His breath caught in his throat as he saw that she was still wearing the green cocktail dress that she had confessed her love to him in—he caught sight of the stain of the Long Island iced tea he had accidentally spilled on her. The diamond necklace dripped its sparkling jewels down the column of her neck and past the valleys of her collarbones, the matching shining earrings brushing against her shoulders as they swung wildly back and forth. As they embraced, he knew that they were silhouetted against the Eiffel Tower in the moonlight. And that's when he realized how effortlessly beautiful their love had been, was, and always would be._

_He reached past her cheek to remove the clip that held her hair up. As her golden hair fell down, he paused for what seemed like a lifetime. "I have always loved you, A—_

"Anna!" Her eyes shot up from her laptop screen and she snapped it shut, wincing slightly as it made a painful cracking noise that definitely indicated something had broken.

"_What_," she snarled. Before she could whirl around to see who had so carelessly interrupted her creative flow, a pair of arms seized her from behind and lifted her up. "P-Put me down right now!" she spluttered out, flustered that someone might see her being manhandled and treated in such an unladylike manner. The offending owner of the pair of arms complied and set her down on the floor.

"What, am I not allowed to surprise my own girlfriend?" Yoh asked playfully, plopping down on a nearby chair.

"No," Anna returned in a dead-pan voice. "You should know that by now." She inhaled and exhaled a few times to get her heart beat down, partially caused out of the fear that _someone_ that knew her well had come so close to reading what she had been working on. What was she working on? Oh yes. A romance novel. A tacky, drippingly romantic, hopped up on fluff romance novel that would somehow net her millions of yen like every clichéd love story she had ever written. Kyoyama Anna. Occupation: romance novelist. Relationship status…

Yoh, with a smug grin on his face, leaned back in chair so much that it slipped out from under him, causing him to be suspended in the air for one second and flat on his back the next.

Anna sighed. Taken. And showing no signs of proposing any time soon, even though they've been in a relationship for _six whole years_. She quickly centered herself and attempted to find her zen and her happy place and her balance and whatever else her anger management and meditation books had advised her to search out whenever she got upset.

"You've been working on another—" Anna supposed that Yoh had had a mental block at that point in time. Either that, or he suddenly had a very existentialistic epiphany and realized that he no longer valued his own life since he reached forward and was going to open her laptop.

She immediately slapped his hand away, grabbed his wrist, yanked his opposite shoulder backwards and shoved the arm in her grip against his back. This is what you call, ladies and gentlemen, disarming someone.

"Erk…s-sorry…I forgot. Not allowed to ever read your stories. Ever," he squeaked out. She shoved his twisted arm again once more for good measure as if to reinforce the lesson he learned before tentatively releasing him. He rubbed his wrist and back tenderly. "Aww, come on, when will you let me read your books?"

"Never." _Maybe if you actually ask me _to marry you already. _Men,_ she huffed to herself indignantly.

He shrugged. "Does the one you're working on take place in Paris again?"

Her eyes bugged out and she turned around to face him. "You've _read _my books?" she said, trying not to screech at him.

He laughed. "Heh, got you! Nah, Pirika was just talking about it again. She's still in love with your works. Says she's your number one fan."

"She _would_ read my books…" Anna muttered to herself. "Can't blame her though. That's what I do. I put in minimal effort by coming up with the crappiest literature possible, put in an irresistibly charming and handsome lead and use a Mary Sue for the female protagonist. That way, the female readers, who are 98% of my target audience, can project themselves onto the severely underdeveloped female character and pretend that they're the one getting confessed to or getting kissed or ravished."

"Isn't that what Stephanie Meyer does?"

"I'm better. I actually write the entire sex scenes out."

"Er…" Yoh wasn't entirely sure if that really was better. "Doesn't that get repetitive though?"

"No, you see there are different character types. The leads can be brooding and emotional and intense. Or he can be awkward and endearing and polite. Or acerbic, witty, and a proverbial 'bad boy.' Or he can be funny and bold. Or even laid back and carefree. A free spirit, really." She swept her laptop into its bag and her hair into a ponytail. "The only important thing is that he's passionate. _That's_ what all the girls are into nowadays."

"Wow, you've certainly got this down to a science." Yoh took the laptop bag from her and held the door open for his girlfriend as they walked outside of the house.

She pursed her lips, not wanting to tell him that she actually enjoyed writing her books and only played it off as exploiting her poor, sappy audiences. That she was actually the poster child for a hopeless romantic. That the last four books she had come out with in the past two and a half years were really poorly disguised versions of herself and him. And how each of them ended with the male character proposing to the fictional version of her. _And that's probably the only way he'd ever propose—if it's in a story, not real life._

"Anyways…I brought up Paris for a reason. Since the setting in all your books is in the City of Lights…" He looked up at the ceiling as if he were distracted while his hands disappeared behind his back. "Don't you think it's high time that we actually visited there?" He produced a pair of tickets and waved them in front of her face temptingly.

She snatched them from his hands. "You're serious?" she demanded, sounding almost angry. As if she was daring him to trick her.

"Yeah, we just wrapped up the finale now and it's in prelim production stages now." He spread his arms out, opening the car door in the process and stepped in. "We have two months all to ourselves. In _Europe_!" He placed his hands on the steering wheel. "And I thought it was appropriate since…well, I'm the lead in a show about Europe and you write all your books about Europe and neither of us have been there…not to mention we've both wanted to go since…"

"Forever," she finished for him.

"Exactly." He paused. "You know, I was planning to tell you at Hang Zang-Ching's instead of your study but I just couldn't wait!"

Anna narrowed her eyes. "Do you…still have reservations at Hang Zang-Ching's?"

"Yeah but I guess I should cancel, huh? It takes months to even get on the waiting list there—"

"I expect you to take us there immediately after we pass by my house," she ordered, putting on her sunglasses, her latest purchase, courtesy of the surprisingly boom in sales of her newest release.

"Your wish is my command," he said in an overtly polite and formal voice.

* * *

**A/N**: i really liked this prompt, sooo this will be at least 5 chapters long :) i really enjoyed writing this (sorry for the extremely late post...school is killing me -__-) hope it's up to your expectations! :D Review? :)


	2. Episode Two: Obligatory Filler Episode!

**Episode Two: Obligatory Expositional Filler!**

**

* * *

**"Shh…I have loved since the day I met you. I love you right now. I will love you forever, I swear. I will never leave your side. The truth is…I even loved you when I was still engaged…"

"You…really did?"

"I have loved you every second of my life."

"Uh…Tamao?" She jumped up and paused the video she was watching. "Are you…er, okay?" She hurriedly wiped at her watery eyes.

"I…Y-Yes…sorry, Mr. Usui…I think I m-might have something in my eyes…" She sniffed and blew her nose on one of the remaining unused tissues she had left.

"Uh…huh…" Horohoro turned on the lights in the sound room. "And don't call me Mr. Usui." He smiled at her. "So. How many times now?"

"E-Eh?"

"How many…never mind." He reached forward and pressed a button on the television set. A number popped up in the bottom left corner of the screen after he released it. "Twelve times. You've rewatched this scene twelve times. You _do_ know that all of the editing equipment in here records how many times you replay footage, right?"

She blushed and shook her head. "N-No, I didn't."

"And to think that I came in here to ask if you wanted to hit up Matamune's with me, Pirika an' Lyserg." He laughed once more. "Tell you what…howzabout we talk about this another time and you go out with us tonight and have fun to take your mind off of things?" He smiled.

She sighed. "Why not…It looks like I'm all out of tissues anyways."

* * *

"_Why am I doing this? So many people tell me I've chained myself to a dying man. But look at us now. We're proving them wrong. But why am I doing this? It's not like I need to. I could've signed off on you. I could've given up. It would've saved me so much time and effort and…everything. It wasn't my duty. But…I wanted to. I wanted…no, I want to save you, Pailong. Why…why…I've never felt so strongly about…anything before. Not about pursuing medicine. Not about working at St. Luke's International. Not even after Lady Sati's death. Why…I always get that question."_

_She pushed his hair back like she always had for the past five years._

"_I am afraid that you will find me to be quite strange for saying this but…I believe that I have fallen in love with you."_

Pirika snapped the book shut. "See! Now go ahead. _Tell me_ that isn't romantic!" she challenged, banging the paperback down on the bar countertop as if to prove her point.

"Okay. It isn't!" Horohoro exclaimed while Lyserg nodded.

"That's so bad…I mean 'I am afraid that you will find me to be quite strange'?" Lyserg shook his head in disbelief. "That's so terrible that even _Ryu_ wouldn't let that be written into _Europe_ _Roundabout_!" Horohoro laughed while even Pirika smiled a little bit, letting a crack in her otherwise stalwart defense show. The only person not joining in was Tamao who was simply fiddling with her perspiring, virgin strawberry daiquiri.

"Hey, Tamamura, what do you think?"

She jumped at the mention of her name. "I…um…"

"Oh come on, don't be shy. Just 'cause it's Pirika's favorite book doesn't mean ya _can't_ tear it to shreds!" Horohoro exclaimed.

"Um…"

"Have you ever read the books?" Pirika asked innocently.

"W-Well…it's a bit…complicated…"

"Eh? How is it complicated? Isn't it that you have either read it or you haven't?" Pirika cocked her head to the side.

"Perhaps she was only able to read part of _Critical Condition_ before her eyes began burning in her skull," Lyserg offered.

"Oh, hush you!" Pirika smacked her co-star in the arm with said paperback copy of _Critical Condition_.

"Ah, ignore them. So, what's the deal?" Horohoro laughed.

"I…well, I'm Anna's roommate so…I, uh—"

Pirika paused in her assault of Lyserg. "You're _what_?!" she squealed.

Lyserg raised his eyebrows in surprised amusement. "You're Anna's—"

"Roommate?" Horohoro gaped.

"Ohmygosh! Ohmygosh! Ohmygosh! Ohmygosh! Ohmygosh!" Pirika shrieked, clinging onto Tamao's arm. "We're totally going to be _best friends_ now, Tamao! You _have_ to introduce me to Anna!" Pirika placed the back of her hand against her forehead wistfully. "Oh, Miss Kyoyama! Your number one fan is coming for you!" She raised her arms in ecstasy, sending her novella flying backwards which effectively knocked out one of the waiters who was passing by.

"And with that, Miss Usui has _somehow_ managed to add yet another reason why romance novels are dangerous to the general public," Lyserg announced into his glass-turned-fake-microphone.

"Jeez, Pirika, calm the heck down! You're scaring, and _hurting_, everyone!" Horohoro chastised his overly excited sister.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," she apologized, rather out of breath. She turned to Tamao. "It's just that…you're…you're Miss Kyoyama's _roommate_!" she exclaimed, beginning to hyperventilate again.

"Well, yes…that's what I meant by it's complicated…" Tamao said, beginning to frown. It had always been like this. Why had she expected it would be any different?

"So, what are you? Like her editor or something'?" Horohoro asked, half-joking.

"A little bit, yes." Tamao pushed her drink away. "She always asks me to read her manuscripts before she sends them off—"

"You have access to her _manuscripts _too?" Pirika nearly screamed. "This is…this is too much for me."

"Dramatic onscreen _and_ offscreen." Lyserg rolled his eyes, smiling.

"Yes…I have access to them…among…o-other things…"

"Other things?"

"Well…I…I don't think a lot of people know but…Anna is rather…slovenly…" She cleared her throat, evidently embarrassed. "And I…help organize her things. Just small things like balancing her accounts, helping her with taxes, setting some of her appointments…"

"So you're a make up artist _and_ a personal secretary? Pity that you get paid for only one of your jobs!" Lyserg smiled.

Her face fell and she gathered up her belongings. "It is, isn't it?" she asked, a little more strongly than was characteristic of her. "Excuse me, I'm running late for another one of my engagements."

She turned around, dragging her purse off of the bar tabletop, ignoring Pirika's cries of _We're still hanging out later, right? Right?!_ She shook her head as she pushed through the bar's door, exiting out onto the street. She could faintly hear Horohoro calling out after her.

She blinked back tears, smiling bitterly at how silly and melodramatic she probably would've looked to them. But she was tired. It had always been like this. People had looked through her for her entire life, she had been invisible but once they found out she was the _amazing_ and _great_ Kyoyama Anna's roommate, then _everyone_ wanted to be her best friend.

Worse was when they found out the dynamic of her relationship with the authoress. People would make snide remarks about how she was Anna's little sidekick, her ingratiating little gopher that did everything for her. Seven years of it was beginning to get sickening.

It wasn't that Tamao hated Anna. Far from it. She idolized her. Ever since that one day on the playground in school when they were six. When Anna stood up to the bullies who had been picking on her. They'd been best friends. And those best friends couldn't be any more different, any more opposite of one another.

And yet…she still found herself resenting Anna. Silently of course. Because of…

"Yoh," she sighed into the night air, sitting down on a bus stop bench.

* * *

"_Class, we'll be having a new student with us today. In case you haven't met her yet, this is Kyoyama Anna. She's joining us from the Osorezan region!" their teacher announced to his first grade class._

_Tamao looked up and immediately smiled at the girl. It was the same kid who had beaten the living crud out of Ponchi and Conchi earlier when they were teasing her about her hair again. The twins yelped and pointed an accusing finger at her before proceeding to cower underneath their desks._

_But Tamao didn't really have a lot of time to waste. Since, well, it was Valentine's Day and she had yet to finish her card for her beloved Yoh. Asakura Yoh, who was currently staring with his mouth open at Anna. But Tamao didn't pay much attention to how he was basically ogling her blond savior._

"_What is that?" came a deadpan, monotone voice._

_Tamao blinked and looked up at who had sat down next to her. "A-Anna!" she exclaimed and shoved the card underneath all her books._

"_Is that a Valentine's Day card?" she asked, sounding really, really bored. She lazily reached past Tamao and underneath her books to pluck out the piece of paper, ignoring Tamao's feeble attempts at stopping her. "Who's it for?"_

"_I…ah…um…"_

"_Yoh." She blinked and looked back up at her. "Who's Yoh?"_

_Tamao couldn't manage anything else other than a pained whimper so Anna followed where her pink haired seatmate was looking. "Huh. That guy? He looks weird." She continued reading through the card. "Looks like you put a lot of work into it." She handed it back to Tamao who hurriedly stuffed it inside her desk._

"_Th-That's because I _did_," Tamao muttered._

"_So when are you gonna give it to him?" Anna asked, totally unaware of her companion's unwillingness to discuss the topic any further._

"_Probably during lunch when he's away from his seat…" she mused, deliberating whether or not she should use a red or pink marker to finish off her greeting._

_Anna knit her brows together. "Why does he have to be away from his seat? Don't you want him to know that _you_ gave it to him?"_

_Tamao squawked. "No! I mean, ah, no…He would never like me back anyways so what's the point?" They both heard a chair scrape against the floor as it was pushed back._

"_Mr. Mosuke, can I go to the bathroom?" Yoh asked, jutting his thumb at the door. Their teacher nodded and the boy exited the classroom and into the hallway._

"_Now's your chance." Anna stood up and pulled Tamao to her feet before pushing her towards the back of the room toward Yoh's desk._

"_What are you talking about?" Tamao asked fearfully, completely caught off guard._

"_He isn't here so go put it on his desk," Anna said as if _everyone_ should've known that. She kept nudging Tamao forward._

_She gulped and thanked whatever deity was up there that Yoh sat in the back corner of the room, almost entirely by himself, since he liked his peace and quiet and illegally listening to music on his headphones. She tossed the card on his desk and sprinted back to her own as fast as she could._

"_See, that wasn't so hard, was it?" Anna drawled._

_Easy for you to say, Tamao thought, her face burning up and her head still swiveling around to see if anyone had caught her placing the Valentine on his desk._

"_I don't know why you're so worried," Anna sniffed, taking out a lunch box as the bell sounded. She pulled out a pair of chopsticks._

_Tamao frowned and looked down at her own lunch._

"_Nothing could possibly go—"_

_They both jumped as they heard someone slap their hand down on the wooden top of Anna's desk. Tamao's jaw dropped and her face flushed and she suddenly lost the ability to speak while Anna's eyes merely blinked as they saw who it was. Yoh smiled down at her._

"_Thanks for the card, Kyoyama!"_

_Anna was rendered speechless. "E-Excuse me?"_

"_The card? You know, those things people usually give each other on Valentine's Day? The one you just put on my desk?"_

"_I did no such thing!" she huffed, offended that he would even think that she would. "And why do you think it's me?"_

"_Well, I saw the way you looked at me when Mosuke-sensei was introducing you to the class," he said nonchalantly, putting his hands behind his head and grinning at her. "And, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think you even _smiled_ at me—"_

_He was interrupted as Anna delivered a sharp slap across his face. She stood up and placed both of her hands on her hips. "I would _never_ smile at you, I would _never _look at you in any other way aside from that of contempt, and I most certainly would not, under any circumstances, ever, _ever_ give you a Valentine's card_._" She sat back down and continued eating her lunch as if nothing had happened._

_Yoh, instead of slinking back to his seat with his head down or whimpering and bursting into tears as everyone would've expected anyone would do after such a tongue lashing, began laughing. Anna paused, her chopsticks halfway to her mouth and she turned back towards him slowly. (Tamao still had on that deer in the headlights look ever since the boy had approached them)._

"_What's so funny?" Anna hissed, apparently unaccustomed to her victims reacting as such after she had chewed them out. _

"_Eh, I don't know. A lot of the girls in the class aren't like you."_

"_And what do you mean by that?"_

"_Feisty and…and funny and stuff." He paused and said the three words Anna would've killed for him to take back, the three syllables Tamao had been waiting so long to hear:_

"_I like you."_

_And with that he began humming a tune and headed back to his desk._

_Anna and Tamao kept staring at where Yoh had been standing for a good few minutes before Tamao burst out, "You said nothing could go wrong!"_

_

* * *

_"Hey, lady, are you coming on the bus or not?" the driver called out to her.

"Ah, sorry. Yes, I'm coming." She fumbled with her purse and tried to count out exact change.

"Where to?" the driver asked impatiently.

"Funbari Apartments, please." She dropped the spare coins into his waiting hands.

"This isn't enough," he snapped.

"Oh, I'm sorry…Let me just…" She searched for more money in her wallet, only coming up with bills much more than the change she owed him.

"If I were any meaner, I would've kicked you off by now," he grumbled, observing the line of passengers that was growing behind Tamao outside.

She sighed and gave him a 5,000 yen bill. He blinked at it. "Lady, you know I don't have change for this, right?"

"You know what, just keep it," she said snippily (though uncharacteristic, her short temper was flaring up more and more that she began to think that it was becoming part of her personality). She headed to the back of the bus where, hopefully, she wouldn't encounter anymore people.

* * *

"_Why not Manta?" Anna propositioned as she changed back into her uniform from her gym clothes._

"_Oyamada?" Tamao asked as she waited for her best friend of seven years to finish. "He's nice, I guess but…" Her voice trailed off._

"_He's a complete loser?" Anna finished for her. Tamao opened her mouth in protest. "Oh, hush, you know it's true. You're just too nice to say it." She paused. "Actually, you're just too nice for your own good."_

"_Anna…"_

"_Well, what do you expect? I've named nearly every boy in our class and you've shot all of them down." She slammed her the door of her overflowing, unorganized locker shut. "Unless…" She cast a suspicious eye at Tamao who instinctively flinched back. "You still like Yoh."_

_Tamao nervously giggled. "Wh-What? N-No…of course not! Wh-Why would you e-e-ever think that?" she asked, her voice cracking. "That's just silly."_

"_Tamao, that was a statement, not a question. And judging from your reaction…" Anna raised her eyebrows. "Wow, you still like him. Impressive. We're in junior high now and you still like him…how long has it been? We're thirteen now and I met you when we were six…"_

"_More than seven years…" Tamao mumbled._

_Anna picked up her book bag. "In any case, will you please, _please_ find someone new this Valentine's Day?"_

_Tamao sighed, feeling a bit guilty. For the past seven years, she had given Asakura Yoh a Valentine (anonymously) ever since the first grade and for the past seven years he had mistakenly thought that they were all from Anna. "Yes, Anna but do you think that…maybe…you could…" She picked at her nails, searching for a word._

"_What?" They both began walking back to class_

"_I don't know, say yes to him?" Tamao said hurriedly._

"_Are you kidding me?" She narrowed her eyes at her._

"_He's asked you out—"_

"_Every single day of my _life_ ever since that one day in first grade when he thought_ I _gave him that card."_

_As if on cue, Yoh had jogged to catch up to the two girls. "Hey, Anna—"_

"_The answer is no, Asakura, and it will always _be_ no."_

_He frowned. "I was just going to return your copy of _Romeo and Juliet…_But I guess you don't want it?"_

_She blinked and studied him closely as if trying to see if it were some sort of trick. "Oh…thanks…I guess." She grabbed the paperback and stuffed it into her book bag (quite an accomplishment considering the current, overstuffed, messy state of said book bag)._

"_By the way, will you go out with me?"_

_Anna let out an incomprehensible growl and clutched at her hair in frustration._

"_I'm taking that as a yes!" Yoh exclaimed triumphantly. "I'll see you in class! Everyone's gonna be so excited that we're going out now! You know, we were voted '_Most Likely to Get Together and Get Married (But She Just Doesn't Know It Yet)'_ by the yearbook committee?" He clapped his hands together. "Awesome!" He saw Manta and began walking with him instead._

"_Do…you…see…?" Anna demanded slowly. "Do you see what I have to put up with on a daily basis?" she snarled. "Why, _why_ me?" she lamented. "Even when we don't have school and we're on vacation, he _still_ somehow manages to find me! Even that one time when we went to Mount Fuji and you all thought I was taking an exceptionally long time at the souvenir stand during spring holiday? Yeah, no, he had _followed_ us there and popped out of nowhere and asked me to be his girlfriend while I was looking at postcards. That idiot…"_

"_Don't you feel sorry for him sometimes?" Tamao said. "I mean, he tries so hard all the time…"_

"_Not everyone will have said yes to his more than two and half thousand propositions. Just you," Anna said disdainfully, roughly pushing the door open._

_

* * *

_"Anna, I'm home," Tamao said, entering their apartment. She tossed her purse and keys on the kitchen table. She let her hair down and collapsed on their living room sofa, exhausted. She sadly started at the plethora of half-eaten ice cream cartons, half-read novels and half-written manuscripts that was strewn about the room, the television still open and playing a DVD of Anna's favorite soap opera. She closed her eyes, expecting Anna to come padding out of her room at any second, her hair in a disheveled mess to chastise Tamao for interrupting her during of one of her writing phases.

* * *

"_I wonder where Anna is…" Tamao mumbled to herself as she went into the bathroom to fix her hair. She hadn't seen Anna for all of lunch, extremely, extremely strange since they had eaten lunch together, without fail, for the past ten years._

"_Eh, maybe she was talking to a teach—Anna!" Tamao exclaimed as her friend emerged from one of the stalls._

"_Er…hi, Tamao." Anna set her mouth into a straight, firm line and she quickly clasped her hands behind her back._

"_What's wrong?" Tamao asked. She saw Anna shift uncomfortably. "Wh-What's that behind your back?" Tamao craned her neck to see what her friend was hiding._

"_Nothing," Anna replied all too quickly, sidestepping Tamao and trying to exit the bathroom quickly._

_Tamao simply followed her. "Why won't you tell me?" she whined._

"_Because…! Because…um…I don't want—" She tripped over one of the uneven tiles by the lockers (the one that Tamao's foot had caught on, sending her sprawling in the middle of the hallway during passing period and fell flat on her face in front of Yoh, much to her extreme embarrassment). But unlike Tamao, Anna was able to steady herself. The thing she was trying to hide however, wasn't so lucky._

_A paperback book flew from her hand and fell onto the floor, sliding across the wooden floorboards, and landed right in front of Tamao._

"Romeo and Juliet_?" Tamao bent forward to pick up the novel. "Why do you have…"_

"_I was reading it in the bathroom, okay?"_

"_I thought you hated reading…"_

"_And writing and literature class. Well, that is, I _used_ to."_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_Do you remember in junior high, we had to read _Romeo and Juliet_?"_

"_That was three years ago!"_

"_Yes, yes it was. I never actually read it because…well, like you said, I hate reading. But then I decided to read it and…well…" She threw her head back dramatically. "My outlook on life has been changed," she proclaimed._

_Tamao looked at her blankly. "What are you saying?"_

"_I'm saying that I want to study writing when we go to college next year. I'm going to be a writer."_

_Tamao frowned uncertainly at her. "I…I'm not so sure it's that easy…"_

"_Are you doubting me?" Anna asked, as if daring Tamao to say yes._

"_Of course not…I just meant…well, how else has it changed you?"_

"_Ah, Kyoyama, I've been looking everywhere for you!" Yoh said cheerily as he saw the two girls in the hallway. "So, I was wondering, do you want to go out with me?"_

_Anna glared at him and Tamao was ready for her to pummel the living daylights out of him. "Ten long years and he still hasn't given up yet…poor thing," Tamao whispered to herself, feeling rather jealous._

_Anna let the question hang in the air for a few minutes before flinging her hair over her shoulder and delivering a swift, yet nonchalant response:_

"_Yes."_

"_Eheh, perhaps another day, wait you just said what now to who?" Yoh reeled backwards as if she had indeed pummeled the living daylights out of him. Tamao's eyes widened so much that she feared they would fall out of her skull._

"_Yes, Asakura Yoh, I would be delighted to go out with you and to be your girlfriend." She grabbed his wrist forcefully and led him down the hallway like an owner leading a very petrified and unwilling puppy by the leash. "Everyone's going be so excited that we're going out now. You know, we were voted '_Most Likely to Get Together and Get Married (But She Just Doesn't Know It Yet)'_ by the yearbook committee."_

_

* * *

_Tamao opened her eyes. "Anna?" she said into the obviously empty apartment. "Anna, are you here?" She steeled herself and opened the door to her best friend's room. She half-expected Anna to be there, furiously typing away at her laptop, too much in the zone for any distractions to bother her. Instead, Tamao was greeted by the sight of an empty chair and desk.

"That's strange. She's always home. Maybe she's out on a date with Yoh," she said, sorrow suddenly bubbling up and overcoming her. She shook herself out of it and checked the calendar that held all of Anna's life in it. However, the square with the current date on it was empty, save for an angry looking "WORK DAY" scrawled inside of it.

"Where could she be?" Tamao was seriously beginning to get worried as she went back to the living room.

* * *

"_I can't believe that we're going to be starting college tomorrow," Tamao whispered, feeling all of the summer euphoria slipping away as she was sleeping over at Anna's house for the umpteenth time that vacation._

"_Neither can I. Good thing we're both going to the same one." She slipped her laptop into her bag._

"_And I can't believe you were serious about being a writer! Who knew you could do a complete one-eighty. And to think you're really good at too when just a few months ago, you detested even picking up a pen to write!" Tamao giggled while Anna allowed herself to smile. "College will be fun. We can room together and of course, college boys," she said, blushing. "Of course we'll have to get there early tomorrow morning so we can request to be roommates."_

"_Listen…Tamao…" Anna sighed. "There's something I wanted to talk to you about. You see…Yoh asked me to move in with him. Since you know how he got that part in that soap opera back in May, he has a studio apartment near the university…"_

_Tamao was crushed. "Oh…" She had assumed that Anna would've broken up with Yoh but somehow ever since she had read _Romeo and Juliet_ her relationship with him had gone absolutely swimmingly much to everyone's surprise. "N-No…It's fine…I get it…I mean, it'll be better that way since I can meet more people and…yeah, don't worry, I get it." But she still couldn't help but feel slighted since Anna knew (and boy, she _definitely_ knew) how Tamao had been in love with Yoh for the past ten years and she still agreed to go out with him despite that knowledge. Even more, since that epiphany that had changed her into a hopeless romantic, Anna had been spending nearly every waking moment with Yoh and had sometimes neglected Tamao and their friendship along the way._

_Anna smiled momentarily. "So have you decided on what you wanted to study in college yet? If I remember correctly, you put down undecided for which career and major you wanted back when we were applying…"_

"_Yoh's going to be starring on _Europe Roundabout_?" Tamao asked, seeming not to have heard Anna's question._

_Anna blinked in surprise. "Yes…His contract is at least for five years." She cleared her throat and asked again. "Do you know what career you want now?"_

_Tamao nodded even if as of five seconds ago, she still had no idea what she wanted to study in college. "Yes…yes, I do. I think I want to be a makeup artist and then maybe I can work on actors and actresses before their shows."_

_It didn't matter anymore. She'd follow him until he loved her._

_

* * *

_She finally came across the blinking phone they kept in the kitchen that currently had one message on its voicemail. Tamao rushed over and pressed it, hoping it was Anna.

Fortunately and unfortunately, it was.

"Hey, Tamao, I'm not going to be home tonight until way later because…" The voice hesitated. "I think Yoh is going to propose to me n—"

And that's when Tamao's world stopped.

* * *

"Eh, we're sorry, Mr. Asakura…but…ah…" The man nervously pulled at his collar.

"But _what_," Hao stated. He crossed his arms and dared the man to say anything else.

"You see…when our representative called you…we all thought that we would be getting…Asakura."

"I _am_ Asakura." Hao raised an eyebrow.

"The…_other_…Mr. Asakura." The man looked as if he were about to melt.

"Oh come now, we all know that you about to say 'the _real_ Mr. Asakura,'" Hao sneered. "And why exactly won't you hire me? Aren't I good enough?" he demanded.

"I-It's not…that but…uh…"

"It's just that I'm not my brother, correct?" Hao stood up. "I'll be leaving now."

* * *

"_You really mean it?" Asakura Keiko blinked in surprise as she looked at Yoh who was busily eating a lollipop._

"_Completely. It's unusual for someone so young to display such talent," Silva said, smiling._

_Keiko laughed sharply, ruffling Yoh's hair affectionately. "This is…this is great! Unexpected but great! So what do you think I should do from here then?" She leaned forward, totally engrossed in what Silva had to say, ignoring Hao's constant pulling of her shirt sleeve._

"_Mom…" Hao moaned._

"_Shh, not now, honey."_

"_Well, normally I'd advise parents with promising young children to head over to the Patch Performing Arts Theater but…" Silva hesitated._

"_But? But?" Keiko asked, pressing him for what he was going to say next._

"_But since Yoh here looks like he's…going to be something else, I'd like to propose that I could personally mentor him. I hope you don't mind—"_

"_Don't mind? Don't _mind_?!" Keiko exclaimed. "Oh, Mr. Silva, this is truly an honor! This is outstanding! I mean…" Her voice dropped. "You really think he's _that_ talented?"_

"_I think he's _capable_ of being incredibly talented. Just with the right amount of training and guidance then maybe…" Silva flashed a smile at Yoh who blankly looked back at him and finished off his lollipop._

"_Mom…"_

"_Hao, quiet for a little bit." Keiko quickly stole a glance at him before returning her gaze to Silva. "What about…well, you know…what about…?" She nodded her head slightly at Hao who seemingly wasn't paying attention._

_Silva frowned. "About him…I don't think he has…as…bright of a future as his brother."_

_Hao, who the two adults had assumed wasn't listening, glared at Silva for a split second, so quick that it was virtually unnoticeable._

"_I see, I see…So I shouldn't sign him up for acting classes?"_

"_I wouldn't even bother."_

_

* * *

_Hao exited the agency completely seething, ignoring the receptionist's warm farewell. He kept shaking his head, his anger growing with each step he took. It had always been like this. Yoh had always been in the spotlight, from when they were growing up when he had been the baby of the family to when they were grade school as their mother refused to give Hao the same opportunity as Yoh. And now this. Recruits and agents always awkwardly tried rejecting him once they found out that they had accidentally contacted Asakura Hao instead. Also an aspiring actor but just not Yoh. _I should make that into a business card. How perfect. _His lips curled into a sneer as he walked down the steps to the subway and passed a huge billboard advertising the season finale of his brother's drama, Yoh's uncharacteristic brooding gaze laughing down at him.

* * *

"_Hao! Hao! Hao!" Yoh shouted as he ran into the Asakura residence._

"_Yoh, Yoh, Yoh," he replied, bored as usual._

"_Guess what!" Yoh exclaimed as he slid to a stop in front of his brother, out of breath._

"_No."_

"_Okay, fine," Yoh hurriedly said, dismissing the negativity his brother was trying to bring into their conversation. "I got the part I auditioned for!"_

"_You auditioned for something?" Hao asked with mock innocence._

_Yoh frowned. "Hao…"_

_He rolled his eyes. "What?"_

"_Stop…stop…stop being mean!" Yoh blurted out. "You know I was working on that audition for _Europe Roundabout _for months!"_

"_Hmph." Hao stood up and patted Yoh on the head stiffly. "Good job then."_

_Yoh looked crestfallen. "Thanks…" he mumbled._

"_You know, I suppose I _am_ being rather of a downer," Hao mused thoughtfully._

_Yoh looked up hopefully._

"_This is probably why," he said flatly, throwing several pieces of paper at his twin before stalking away._

_Yoh looked at them._

_Dear Mr. Asakura,_

_Thank you for auditioning for _Osorezan Revoir._ However, we regret to inform you that you did not make the final callbacks. Do keep on acting and auditioning, it is unusual for someone so young to have so much untapped and raw talent—_

_Dear Mr. Asakura,_

_Thank you for your audition for _Europe Roundabout. _But we must regretfully inform you that you did not get the part of—_

_Dear Mr. Asakura,_

_We would like to thank you for taking the time to audition for _Reincarnation, _however, you unfortunately did not—_

_Dear Mr. Asakura,_

_Thank you very much for trying out for _The Boy Who Dances With Ghosts_ but at this time we do not—_

_Dear Mr. Asakura,_

_Thank you for auditioning for _Mentalite Flowers_. However—_

_Dear Mr. Askaura,_

_Many thanks for coming out to the _Snake Eyes_ audition but—_

_Dear Mr. Asakura,_

_Thank you for your _Unwritten_ audition. Nevertheless—_

_Yoh let the letters fall to the floor. "Hao…"_

_

* * *

_Hao shook his head bitterly as he threw some spare change to buy the daily paper before sitting down to read it and wait for his train.

He let out an angry bark of acerbic laughter as he saw the first page:

DRAMA _EUROPE ROUNDABOUT_ CELEBRATES SIXTH ANNIVERSARY: Becomes Most Watched Japanese Drama in History of Television

* * *

"_So, um, how's the…commercial going?" Yoh asked, his voice searching for some sort of topic to talk about with his brother._

"_Yoh, filming for the commercial was done nearly a month and a half a go. In fact, the commercial has been airing so long that they stopped running it already," Hao stated into the phone, trying his best not to snap. His hand clenched around his water bottle as he saw yet another interview with Yoh play on the television in the waiting room he was in. "What do you want anyways?"_

_He could visualize Yoh flinching at the question on the other end of the line. "I just…wanted to ask your advice about something."_

"_What could the great and almighty Yoh be in need of help with?" Hao asked mockingly. "What, do you want advice on how to be a failure? How to get rejected from nearly every other audition you go to because they think your acting style is too similar to your brother/s?"_

_He heard Yoh sigh, evidently hurt or tired of Hao's constant barbs. "I'm being serious here."_

"_As am I."_

"_I was going to ask you how I should propose to Anna but…you know what, never mind." Yoh hung up._

_Hao's hand was frozen around the handset even long after Yoh had disconnected the call. "Pro…pose?" He shook his head and shut off his cell phone. "Yes, Yoh gets the family's praise, the job, the fame, the money, the perfect auditions, winning reviews, and now, the girl. How perfect." He stood up. "_Every_body loves Yoh."_

"_Asakura? Asakura?" the set hand called into the room._

_He raised his hand. "That would be me."_

_The set hand looked down at the clipboard before looking back up at him. "Er…" She looked him up and down before shrugging. "Follow me, I guess."_

_She led him through a few hallways before guiding him to a door which he opened._

_The director smiled cheerily at him. "Asakura Y—" His smile instantly evaporated. "You're…"_

"_Not Yoh?" Hao had to literally bite down on his tongue to keep from shouting at the man._

_The man reddened, embarrassed that Hao had called out his expectations. "W…Would you still be interested in auditioning? Perhaps we could still…work you in…somewhere."_

"_Interesting. Your representative said that I would be trying out for the leading role."_

"_I—"_

"_Would I still be auditioning for the leading role?" Hao asked in a deadpan voice, already knowing the answer to his question._

"_I was thinking…more as an extra…"_

"_Good day."_

_

* * *

_Hao narrowed his eyes and then smiled as the train doors closed behind him. "Miss Tamamura?"

* * *

**A/N**: omnomnom, flashbacks. tried to incorporate as much Yohna as I could. needed this chapter. sorry guys. can't think right now. sorry for the late update. will post explanation on LJ later. working on chapter 12 of Critical Condition. having family problems right now. reviews would really make me a lot happier than I have for the past couple of weeks. hope y'all are doing better than i am


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